EU-28 steel production continues to fall

Steel production across the EU-28 fell 7.5 percent in November year-on-year, according to the latest data released by the World Steel Association. The region's output for the month amounted to 13.160 million tons, which is almost 3.8 percent lower than in the previous month. The UK posted the largest decline in a month.

Germany recorded the highest steel output during the month of November in the region. The country produced 3.482 million tonnes during this month, down 3.1 percent from the country's output of 3.592 million tonnes in November 2014. On an annualized basis, Croatia recorded the biggest jump in production. Crude steel production in Croatia was up 5,000 tonnes from zero production in the same month a year earlier. However, Croatia also had the lowest yield among the EU countries.

Croatia, Finland, Greece, Italy and Poland increased their crude steel production year on year. The UK recorded the largest decline in crude steel production in November 2015, a decline of 32.6 percent from the previous year.

Cumulative steel production in the first eleven months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, in thousand tons: Austria - 7035 (-3.2%); Belgium - 6,524 (-3.4%); Czech Republic - 4870 (-0.6%); Finland - 3672 (+ 5.0%); France - 14007 (-6.8%); Germany - 39691 (+ 0.01%); Greece - 962 (+ 0.6%); Hungary - 1546 (+47.0); Italy - 20,510 (-7.8); Luxembourg - 1.983 (-3.8%); Netherlands - 6479 (+ 1.8%); Poland - 8657 (+ 9.5%); Slovakia - 4303 (+ 0.5%); Spain - 13,821 (+ 3.7%); Sweden - 4038 (-2.9%); Great Britain - 10,179 (-9.6).